The present disclosure relates generally to methods for making an authenticating system for an object.
Secure packaging is an important component of product tracking and authenticating, as well as anti-counterfeiting initiatives. Secure packaging involves commitment to two logical extremes: providing each package with a unique ID on the “authentication extreme” and providing tamper prevention on the “packaging protection extreme.” Taken to these extremes, a package may contain a 1024-bit encrypted ID and may be made of adamant to ensure its safe and secure pathway through the supply chain. Production concerns, however, may make simultaneous achievement of these two goals difficult. Encrypting and anti-tampering instruments are often simultaneously brought to bear on the package. Coordinating printing, packaging, encoding, and authenticating technologies, as well as planning packaging runs to accommodate all of these technologies, may be complex, and thus may be impractical for many products, and for many organizations.
Many instruments used for authentication are printed as the package travels through the packaging/production line. Such instruments include 1-dimensional (1D) and 2-dimensional (2D) bar codes, printed serial numbers, and the like. Providing these instruments during the packaging may add significant complexity to the product assembly/packaging line, and may increase the amount of “waste” associated with a single exception event. “Waste” generally means that when a failure occurs, a set (e.g., multiple units) larger than the single unit/package (such as, for example, carton, box, pallet, lot, etc.) is affected by the failure. Such a system may also reduce the ability of a packaging company to outsource the production of an entire pre-printed package having authentication/security instruments in place.
As such, it would be desirable to provide an authentication system that obviates at least some of the complexities mentioned hereinabove.